This technology is a beacon circuit that provides security for hardware by alerting users to malicious tampering in the device’s design and fabrication.
While computer security has traditionally been focused on software, the protection of hardware is also necessary for a completely secure system. Current methods of hardware security employ either a high-level design language as protection or aim to identify deviations on the manufactured chip through comparison to a “gold standard”. However, such methods fail to address the security of the entire process of hardware development from design through manufacturing.
This technology describes a beacon circuit that provides hardware protection by alerting users to malicious tampering in the device’s design and fabrication. The beacon is integrated into the hardware itself and detects any changes in components or circuitry not intended by the user and provides alerts via unique power signature readouts. Considering that the circuit will be inoperable without the beacon, a foundry intending to insert malicious backdoors in the hardware will be unable to circumvent this security feature.
A prototype of the technology has been tested and its efficacy was verified for at least three hardware designs.
IR CU14190
Licensing Contact: Greg Maskel